I want to practice some self-love this morning and give a big shout out to my feet. And my knees. And my hips. My hands for holding my hiking poles. And my shoulders and back for holding my pack. Looking at my Fitbit, I realize I have walked one-half million steps the last two weeks.
We weigh our packs on the scale on the deck. No way in Hell is GG's pack lighter than mine! I am really in shock. Even with her fanny pack and all that stuff hanging off her pack, hers is lighter. I am very happy for her for finally paring down some of her weight, but how did mine get heavier? The cheese and extra water can't wait this much. GG gloats as we hoist our packs.
The smell of honeysuckle permeates the air. The stuff is disgustingly invasive, but it does smell heavenly. We are walking down the gravel drive back to the trail when Kodiak, J-13, and Food Truck pass by us in a shuttle to the Dollar General. Kodiak ordered some new pants and shoes, and she needs to stay until they are delivered. She has lost weight and her original hiking pants no longer fit. She plans to slackpack tomorrow from 21 miles north back to Boots Off tomorrow, when the package should arrive. She will then be shuttled back to TN 91 to continue north the day after and catch up to us so we can hike into Damascus, VA in three days.
Recent flooding adds a short half-mile road walk to our hike this morning, which is going to takes us around the lake and a 3,000-foot climb to the opposite ridge. The morning sunlight is reflecting off the lake, the surface of which is slightly rippling and lapping the shoreline. The angle of the rays is blinding, but I can't stop looking at the pretty tableau as I walk along the trail.
I am a whopping mile into my hike today when I stop to sit on a log so I can enjoy the scene and drink my breakfast coffee shake. A slight breeze is blowing, and a heron takes flight when a pontoon boat cruises near the shore. While I watch some ginormous ants crawling on my backpack, GG cruises by. We agree to meet at the next shelter, 8 miles up the trail. I tell her I am taking my time today and will be slow; with our hike coming to an end, I just want to look at plants and take in the views and soak up the sunshine and fresh air.
As I mosey up the trail, I am assaulted by cobwebs. How on earth are so many people hiking ahead of me and I am still web-walking? GG is much shorter than me, but I was recently passed by Ash and Switzerland, and they are much taller.
The first four miles today are easy enough, only gaining 1,000 feet, and the hike north from Watauga Lake is beautiful; the lake is on our right for the majority of our hike. We cross Wilbur Dam Road, and a large level campsite is just on the other side. GG asks if I am ready for a break. Umm, I have been taking one big break all morning, but okay! Time for a wrap, but I shake it up and do tuna with mayo. No relish because I ran out. But I am so hungry I could eat a piece of cardboard with mayo and find it satisfying.
We are stretching in preparation for the climb up Iron Mountain when we hear the click of hiking poles on the road below. Food Truck crests the rise. He had to run into the Dollar General because he left his hiking poles there by accident yesterday. He started at least an hour after us but he is already flying by. He is planning on 30 miles today. These young pups can have it! I am okay with just 15 miles today!
More aggressive hikers have a goal of 10x10 or 12x12. This means 10 miles by 10 am or 12 miles by noon. By comparison, I am happy with my version of 12x12, which is 12 thousand steps by noon!
Iron Mountain calls, so I shrug on my pack and head up the mountain and pop a strawberry cliff shot in my mouth for dessert.
We mosey along the ridge, gaining in elevation for the next couple miles. A small spring on the ridgetop is a perfect place to stop and filter water. When I say small, I mean a trickle with muddy sediment in the bottom of my collecting cup. I have to pour the mess through my buff to prefilter the sludge, so it doesn't completely clog my water filter. I sit and patiently filter two liters of water, since the day is hot, and I am guzzling through my water. GG comes up and we agree to meet at the shelter for our big meal of the day.
I am still filtering when I spot some kind of weird looking bug in the mud. I know crawdads, and this is definitely not one. Two backpackers are descending and approaching cautiously while I am hunched over. They must have thought I was going to the bathroom, the way I was crouched down. I tell them I am observing something in the water. He looks and says it appears to be dragonfly larvae! I later see that they have an aquatic stage. I don't dawdle because blackflies start dive-bombing me and one thing I can't tolerate is blackfly bites. I swell up like crazy and had to take prednisone when I had a nasty blackfly encounter in Peru on the Inca trail.
The views of the lake are becoming fewer and farther between as I crest the ridge. The elevation gain feels unrelenting, but I know I am almost done with climbing today. We have been living at around four thousand feet for the last couple weeks, and the trail is supposed to get easier as we enter into Virginia in a couple days. I do know I need to stop and catch my breath less frequently on the uphill portions of the trail, and overall, I am hiking faster even with a "relaxed" pace.
I arrive at the Vandeventer Shelter at 3:30 pm. The shelter is old and small - maybe room for six, scrunched together. Behind the shelter there is a beautiful view of the lake far below to the east.
GG went down to the water source on a side trail to the west of the shelter and said it was quite the trip down, so I am very happy with my decision to stop earlier and fill up. Food Truck is chowing down, and I am surprised to see him. We are definitely hiking faster than previous days. He is going to have to do a bit of night hiking to make his 30-mile goal.
I decide to hold off on eating a heavy dinner, as we have about one thousand feet of gain still today, and four miles until the next camping spot with water. I decide to eat a protein bar with a less-than-tasty drink of beet and greens powder, mixed with 2 electrolyte packets and some EmergenC. A gross electrolyte overload that will carry me the rest of the way. Thank goodness I have good kidneys.
We are finishing up when Purple Haze and Foxy come into the shelter area from the north. We haven't seen them since Jones Falls, 38 miles ago. They must have come into the hostel late last night since we didn't see them. They are doing a 21-mile slackpack back to the hostel tonight. They thought we are also slackpacking, but we point to our packs and said we left from there this morning heading north. Foxy is surprised we made it this far with loaded packs and the climb from the dam, since they have done only a couple miles farther than us and they only have daypacks and had half the climb. Maybe we aren't turtles after all!
We stretch before donning our packs and say goodbye. Our stop was much more leisurely than we planned: we spent 45 minutes at the shelter. I am nonplussed by setting up camp late, but GG gets a little freaked out by the prospect.
The trail starts to turn northwest, away from the lake. I am in the lead and on the lookout for rattlesnakes, which have been reported in the area. The wee beasties like to sun themselves in the middle of the trail, where a parting in the tree canopy above allows for sunlight to penetrate to the ground below.
We take off our packs in a cleared camping area in order to use the facilities. While I wait for GG, I watch butterflies fluttering about, and one decides it likes GG's pack very much. The funny thing about butterflies is they like poop. I saw many sitting on piles of bear scat when we hiked through SMNP. Butterflies like poop. Butterflies like GG's pack. Therefore, I surmise that the pack smells like poop to the winged insect. I am cracking up taking pictures when GG returns. I tell her that her pack is very sweet to the butterfly!
Bear sightings are also numerous in this area, especially in the evening. The ridge is wide and flat here, with lots of blueberry bushes and mayapples. The understory is very thick, and wonderfully verdant and green, probably teeming with lots of bugs to fill hungry bear stomachs. I walk over a pile of fresh bear scat in the middle of the trail.
I stop to tell GG we should probably take out our earphones in case a bear is nearby. We certainly wouldn't be able to hear one while listening to music. She agrees and we turn off our phones. Almost immediately, maybe within five minutes, I hear a commotion and see a bear in a tree only 30 feet off the trail!! The bear is a medium-sized adult and scrambles out of the tree and over the side of the ridge before I can pull out my phone for a picture. GG, with her head down and slightly behind me, didn't see the bruin.
We arrive at an unnamed campsite on top of the ridge with a nearby spring. Rarely is water this close to a campsite, so we are blessed. We set up quickly and collect water. GG finds a nice level campsite while I find two perfectly distanced trees for my hammock. I make dinner while GG successfully thrown her bear bag line over a tree which is a great height for our food bags, but the only thing that makes me nervous is that the tree is right in the middle of camp.
We are ready for bed just as darkness descends in earnest.
Today's stats: 13 miles, 3,000-feet gain
Trail stats: 442 miles, 105k gain!
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